Flashbacks in social anxiety disorder: Psychopathology of a case

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by overwhelming anxiety in everyday situations which are frequently avoided due to a fear of being watched and scrutinized by others or acting in an embarrassing way. Flashbacks are typical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and their main features are intrusive and vivid images that occur in a waking state. We present a case study of a man diagnosed with social anxiety disorder who had reexperiencing symptoms similar to flashbacks of what he considered “shameful situations”. The differential aspects between flashbacks and obsessional imagery are discussed. Reexperiencing symptoms and imagery of social phobia as well as the sociocultural influence over the symptomatology of psychiatric disorders are then highlighted.